“Will offered to come with me.”
“But he didn’t insist? When the Prince of Troy took Helen, her husband launched a thousand ships and started a war.”
“Ronnie, no one istakingme—”
“I know, I know. But don’t you think it’s strange that Will doesn’t seem to think it’s possible to lose you? That he didn’t even notice howyouwere looking at Amir?”
My face grew warm as we both fell silent.
After a moment, Ronnie said, “Oh, Merrow. What are you going to do?”
A hand on my shoulder made me jump. When I looked up, I saw Emma. She wore large sunglasses and a wan smile.Can we talk?she mouthed.
“Emma’s here,” I told Ronnie, promising that I would call her again soon.
Emma sank down to the sand beside me. “I’ve been calling you! Will said I’d find you here. I’ve been so embarrassed all day.” She touched her fingers to her forehead and moaned. “I drank too much last night. Did I make a fool of myself? Did you see Amir this morning? What did he say? I hope he doesn’t think too poorly of me! Does he?”
I felt a rush of sympathy for Emma, who had always been more interested in her studies than in boys, and who had now, by all appearances, fallen in love with Amir overnight. “Of course not. You were fine. It was a party. Everyone had too much to drink.”
She cocked her head. “Amirdidsay something, didn’t he?” Her cheeks grew pink. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me what he said.”
“Really,” I said softly. “He didn’t say anything about you.” I realized I had not thought of Emma even once while I had sat with Amir on the beach that morning. Any twinges of jealousy had fled my mind the moment I’d looked at him and felt how he looked at me. Now, I wished only to put my friend out of her misery as gently as possible.
“Oh.” She took off her sunglasses and fiddled with them fora moment before putting them back on. “Was he always so handsome? I really only met him that one time we stayed in Osha, didn’t I? I don’t remember him looking likethat.” Her face twisted. I could not tell if she was embarrassed or distraught. She attempted to laugh. “I’m sorry. Is that gross for you to think about? I wouldn’t like to think about my brother as hot, either. He’s just Will.”
“Amir isn’t my brother.”
There was a pause.
“What do you call him?”
“He’s—” I realized with a start that I had been about to snap:He’s mine.“We grew up together.”
Emma stopped smiling. “Are you... upset with me, Merrow? Did I do something wrong?”
“No.” I tried to smooth the edges from my voice and could not. “I’m sorry. It was a late night.”
“Oh.” She pushed the sand around with her feet. “Sometimes I wonder if you still think of me as just a little girl.”
I could not tell her that Amir and I would always belong more to each other than to anyone else. That I loved Will, but we were not welded together in the way that Amir and I were. That the thought of Amir being with another woman, even someone whom I liked as much as I liked Emma, was unbearable.
“I’m sorry,” I said again. The cool feeling of the sea on my skin had dissipated. A queer sensation had overtaken me since Amir had returned. It was as though my blood were moving faster, its rush an insistent thrum in my ears. I stood and held out my hand to help Emma to her feet. “I’m sorry.”
